# 1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1948, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1949 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 26, 1949, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington. The Kentucky Wildcats won their second NCAA national championship with a 46–36 victory over the Oklahoma A&M Aggies.

## Rule changes

Coaches were permitted to speak to players during time-outs. Previously, under a rule in place since the 1910–11 season, no coaching of players had been permitted during the progress of a game.

## Season headlines

* The Associated Press (AP) Poll debuted. The first national poll for ranking college basketball teams, it was modeled after the AP college football poll, which had begun in the mid-1930s. It ranked the Top 20 teams, and continued to do so until the 1961–62 season, when it became a Top 10 poll.
* The Ohio Valley Conference began play, with six original members.
* The Border Conference began a hiatus from major college basketball competition, playing at the non-major level for two seasons. It would return to major competition in the 1950–51 season.
* The Middle Atlantic States Conference North disbanded at the end of the season.
* The National Invitation Tournament expanded from eight to 12 teams.
* Kentucky became the first team to finish the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and go on to win the NCAA tournament.
* Jim Lacy of Loyola (Maryland) completed his collegiate career with 2,154 points, the first player to score 2,000 or more points in his career.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Bradley Braves | Independent | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Creighton Bluejays | Missouri Valley Conference | Independent |
| Eastern Kentucky State Colonels | Independent | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Evansville Purple Aces | Non-major basketball program | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Louisville Cardinals | Independent | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Morehead State Eagles | Non-major basketball program | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Murray State Racers | Non-major basketball program | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Western Kentucky State Hilltoppers | Independent | Ohio Valley Conference |

## Regular season
### Conferences
#### Conference winners and tournaments

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Big Seven Conference | Nebraska & Oklahoma | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Illinois | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Yale | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | Manhattan & St. John's | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mid-American Conference | Cincinnati | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Middle Atlantic States Conference North | Lafayette & Muhlenberg | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Oklahoma A&M | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | Wyoming | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Western Kentucky State | None selected | 1949 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory (Louisville, Kentucky) | Western Kentucky State |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Oregon State (North); UCLA (South) | | No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Oregon State defeated UCLA in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Southeastern Conference | Kentucky | None selected | 1949 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Kentucky |
| Southern Conference | NC State | None selected | 1949 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Duke Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina) | NC State |
| Southwest Conference | Arkansas, Baylor, & Rice | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Western New York Little Three Conference | Niagara | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Yankee Conference | Connecticut | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1948–49 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1948–49 Big Seven Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Nebraska9–3 .75016–10  .615 Oklahoma9–3 .75014–10  .583 Kansas State8–4 .66713–11  .542 Missouri6–6 .50011–13  .458 Colorado4–8 .3336–12  .333 Kansas3–9 .25012–12  .500 Iowa State3–9 .2508–14  .364 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Big Nine Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 4 Illinois10–2 .83321–4  .840 No. 6 Minnesota9–3 .75018–3  .857 Michigan7–5 .58315–6  .714 No. 20 Ohio State6–6 .50014–7  .667 Indiana6–6 .50014–8  .636 Purdue6–6 .50013–9  .591 Wisconsin5–7 .41712–10  .545 Iowa3–9 .25010–10  .500 Northwestern2–10 .1675–16  .238 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 11 Yale9–3 .75022–8  .733 Columbia8–4 .66714–6  .700 Pennsylvania8–4 .66715–8  .652 Princeton8–4 .66713–9  .591 Cornell5–7 .41711–15  .423 Dartmouth4–8 .33315–11  .577 Harvard0–12 .0003–20  .130 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1948–49 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Manhattan5–1 .83318–8  .692 St. John's5–1 .83315–9  .625 CCNY3–2 .60017–8  .680 NYU3–2 .60012–8  .600 St. Francis (NY)2–2 .50021–12  .636 Fordham1–5 .1679–16  .360 Brooklyn0–6 .0008–14  .364 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Cincinnati9–1 .90023–5  .821 No. 18 Butler8–2 .80018–5  .783 Western Michigan4–6 .40012–10  .545 Western Reserve4–6 .4009–15  .375 Miami (Ohio)3–7 .3008–13  .381 Ohio2–8 .2006–16  .273 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Middle Atlantic States Conference North men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Lafayette6–2 .75020–9  .690 Muhlenberg6–2 .75017–8  .680 Gettysburg5–3 .62516–10  .615 Lehigh3–5 .3757–11  .389 Bucknell0–8 .0002–18  .100 Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1948–49 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Oklahoma A&M9–1 .90023–5  .821 No. 3 Saint Louis8–2 .80022–4  .846 No. 7 Bradley6–4 .60027–8  .771 Drake4–6 .40013–13  .500 Wichita State3–7 .30010–16  .385 Tulsa0–10 .0004–20  .167 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 17 Wyoming15–5 .75025–10  .714 No. 12 Utah14–6 .70024–8  .750 Denver13–7 .65018–15  .545 BYU11–9 .55021–13  .618 Utah State4–16 .20010–21  .323 Colorado State3–17 .15014–21  .400 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 5 Western Kentucky State†8–2 .80025–4  .862 Eastern Kentucky State7–3 .70017–4  .810 Louisville6–3 .66723–10  .697 Marshall2–2 .50016–12  .571 Evansville4–5 .44414–11  .560 Murray State3–9 .25013–12  .520 Morehead State2–7 .22214–9  .609 Tennessee Tech0–1 .00010–10  .500 † Ohio Valley Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1948–49 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Oregon State †12–4 .75024–12  .667 Washington State8–8 .50021–9  .700 Oregon7–9 .43812–18  .400 Idaho7–9 .43817–15  .531 Washington6–10 .37511–15  .423 South No. 15 UCLA10–2 .83322–7  .759 USC8–4 .66714–10  .583 Stanford5–7 .41719–9  .679 California1–11 .08314–19  .424 † Conference playoff series winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 1 Kentucky13–0 1.00032–2  .941 No. 9 Tulane12–3 .80024–4  .857 Tennessee8–3 .72719–7  .731 Vanderbilt9–5 .64314–8  .636 LSU7–6 .53815–10  .600 Alabama9–9 .50013–12  .520 Georgia Tech7–9 .43811–13  .458 Georgia6–9 .40017–13  .567 Florida4–8 .33311–16  .407 Auburn5–11 .3139–15  .375 Ole Miss4–12 .2508–13  .381 Mississippi State3–12 .2004–13  .235 † 1949 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 13 North Carolina State†14–1 .93325–8  .758 William & Mary10–3 .76924–10  .706 North Carolina13–5 .72220–8  .714 George Washington9–4 .69218–8  .692 Davidson11–6 .64718–8  .692 South Carolina7–6 .53810–12  .455 Wake Forest7–7 .50011–13  .458 Maryland7–7 .5009–17  .346 Virginia Tech6–8 .42910–13  .435 Duke5–7 .41713–9  .591 Clemson6–9 .40010–11  .476 Washington and Lee5–9 .35710–12  .455 Richmond5–10 .3338–15  .348 Furman4–11 .2678–14  .364 VMI3–8 .2733–16  .158 The Citadel0–11 .0001–17  .056 † Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
| 1948–49 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Arkansas9–3 .75015–11  .577 Baylor9–3 .75014–10  .583 Rice9–3 .75013–11  .542 Texas7–5 .58317–7  .708 SMU5–7 .41711–13  .458 Texas A&M2–10 .1675–19  .208 TCU1–11 .0834–20  .167 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Western New York Little Three Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Niagara3–1 .75024–7  .774 Canisius2–2 .50016–12  .571 St. Bonaventure1–3 .25018–8  .692 Rankings from AP Poll | 1948–49 Yankee Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Connecticut 7–1 .87519–6  .760 Rhode Island State 5–1 .83316–6  .727 Vermont 2–1 .66715–5  .750 Massachusetts 2–2 .5006–12  .333 New Hampshire 2–6 .2507–10  .412 Maine 0–7 .0004–14  .222 |

### Major independents

A total of 43 college teams played as major independents. Villanova (23–4) had the best winning percentage (.852). San Francisco (25–5) and Loyola of Illinois (25–6) finished with the most wins.
Although not considered a major independent during the season, Hamline (28–3) played as an independent and was ranked No. 19 in the season's final AP Poll.
1948–49 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1948–49 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* No. 14 Villanova– –23–4
* .852
* No. 8 San Francisco– –25–5
* .833
* No. 16 Loyola (Ill.)– –25–6
* .806
* No. 10 Bowling Green State– –24–7
* .774
* Duquesne– –17–5
* .773
* Siena– –22–7
* .759
* La Salle– –21–7
* .750
* West Virginia– –18–6
* .750
* Akron– –16–6
* .727
* Syracuse– –18–7
* .720
* Notre Dame– –17–7
* .708
* Holy Cross– –19–8
* .704
* Miami (Fla.)– –19–8
* .704
* Seton Hall– –16–8
* .667
* DePaul– –16–9
* .640
* Brown– –13–8
* .619
* Xavier– –16–10
* .615
* Colgate– –11–7
* .611
* Temple– –14–9
* .609
* LIU– –18–12
* .600
* Baldwin Wallace– –13–9
* .591
* Washington University– –13–9
* .591
* Navy– –12–9
* .571
* Virginia– –13–10
* .565
* Detroit– –12–10
* .545
* Rutgers– –14–12
* .538
* Dayton– –16–14
* .533
* St. Joseph's– –12–11
* .522
* Toledo– –13–12
* .520
* Boston College– –9–9
* .500
* Pittsburgh– –12–13
* .480
* Wayne– –11–13
* .458
* Saint Mary's– –13–17
* .433
* Army– –7–10
* .412
* Penn State– –7–10
* .412
* Creighton– –9–14
* .391
* Marquette– –8–13
* .381
* Georgetown– –9–15
* .375
* Santa Clara– –8–15
* .348
* Boston University– –6–12
* .333
* Valparaiso– –8–17
* .320
* John Carroll– –7–17
* .292
* Providence– –7–19
* .269
* Rankings from AP Poll

### Informal championships

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Middle Three Conference | Rutgers | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In play among the three member schools in 1948–49, Rutgers finished with a 3–1 record in games played between the three members.

### Statistical leaders
## Post-season tournaments
### NCAA tournament
#### Semifinals & finals

| National semifinals | National semifinals | National Finals | National Finals |
| Illinois | 47 | | |
| Kentucky | 76 | | |
| Kentucky | 76 | Kentucky | 46 |
| | | Oklahoma A&M | 36 |
| Oklahoma A&M | 55 | Oklahoma A&M | 36 |
| Oregon State | 30 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Illinois | 57 |
| | | Oregon State | 53 |

### National Invitation tournament
#### Semifinals & finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| Loyola (Ill.) | 55 | | |
| Bradley | 50 | | |
| Bradley | 50 | Loyola (Ill.) | 47 |
| | | San Francisco | 48 |
| San Francisco | 49 | San Francisco | 48 |
| Bowling Green State | 39 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Bradley | 77 |
| | | Bowling Green State | 82 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Ralph Beard | G | Senior | Kentucky |
| Vince Boryla | F | Junior | Denver |
| Alex Groza | C | Senior | Kentucky |
| Tony Lavelli | F | Senior | Yale |
| Ed Macauley | F | Senior | Saint Louis |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Position | Class | Team |
| Bill Erickson | G | Junior | Illinois |
| Vern Gardner | F | Senior | Utah |
| Wallace Jones | F | Senior | Kentucky |
| Jim McIntyre | C | Senior | Minnesota |
| Ernie Vandeweghe | G | Senior | Colgate |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: Tony Lavelli, Yale

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Dick McGuire, St. John's

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | New Coach |
| Georgetown | Elmer Ripley | Buddy O'Grady |
| John Carroll | Norb Rascher | Elmer Ripley |
| La Salle | Charles McGlone | Ken Loeffler |
| Seton Hall | Jack Reitmeier | Honey Russell |
| Washington & Lee | Bob Spessard | Conn Davis |